golfrewind.com

Hi all,
I am new here and wondering if anybody can help. I have great clubs and can use most of them, I have no problems with driver and woods nor indeed with sw to 7iron but as soon as I use my 5 or 6 iron it all falls apart. I can reach 150 metres with my 7 iron but with the 5 iron I just about make 140 with no flight or control. I am at a loss to understand the dynamic here. Anyone got any Ideas.

I'd love to have the same answer myself. For many golfers, long irons are the hardest clubs to hit. Definitely for me. I keep working on my iron play in practice, but my short term solution is to just not have them in my bag. So instead of 5, 6, 7 irons, I carry 7, 9, 11 woods. I don't always hit good shots with woods, but I do hit good shots sometimes. With the long irons, I'm in the same situation, only worse. I can hit PW, and 9 iron, but the 7,8,9 irons all seem to go the same distance most of the times.

I've read that if your swing speed is too low, you just won't get distance out of longer irons, after a certain point, they all go the same, and you need woods or hybrids instead. But 150m for a 7 iron definitely indicates that low swing speed is not the primary problem.

at the start of your backswing, when your left arm is parallel to the ground, try to have the club slightly past 90 degrees, same on downswing, when your left arm gets parllel to the ground, the club should be in the same position. By doing this you dont loose any power in your swing. Where's a picture to show what i mean, look at the top left picture of Goosens swing.

I you could hit a fairway wood or a drive decent, there is no reason for you not to be able to hit a 5 iron.
If all else failed, switch to a hybrid.
PGA.com :: irons :: How to hit those dreaded long irons

Thanks All.

Some good and useful stuff here, I dont believe it is a power thing. I am coming to the sad reallisation that it is in my head. I went to a golf shop today where they had a simulator I did not have my clubs so used the ones in the shop. I was able to hit some good shots with those low irons. I am reluctant to replace my irons with fairway woods, (1) they are Calloway X20s, (2) I dont think I get as much control with the woods. I guess I am going to have to solve this on the golf course.

Whenever I have trouble with the longer clubs, I hit the range and swing without cocking my wrists. A smooth "wristless" swing puts things back in order after a few dozen practice shots. Then I gradually start using the wrists over the next few days. This always works well whether I play every day or am returning after a layoff.

Hi All,

Just wanted to share my struggle with my iron play. After my last post I tried everything that was suggested by your good selves and more and still got nowhere, so I went to a pro with no success, he suggested I go to a gym. I felt like giving up. Then one day on the driving range I compared my wood swing with my iron swing and I noticed my arms were further from my body and my swing was flatter, I tried this with my irons and heh presto it started to to come together. It was hard to change but with hard work I got there. I am happy to report that things are a lot better. The differance is only about 4 inches, which goes to show this game is about tiny tolerances. Now my 6 iron is at 170yds and 5 is at 180 with a much more relaxed swing. It appears I was crowding the ball, which did not matter with the short irons and because my stance was different with the woods and driver explains why I had no problem with these clubs. I hope this helps others who may be having the same problem. It continues to rain here so I have not been able to get on the course yet, but I am sure I will be able to report in time a drop in my handicap.

Good things to you.

Backswing

that's why i NEVER go to a pro. i get the feeling that they dont really want to help you. i mean the guy told you to go to the gym?? but kudos to you for figuring it out, i know when you solve a problem in golf its uplifting and you start to have fun again.

I think you are right I have only had 3 lessons, of those only one was of value. And yes i really was miserable as miserable can be about the whole thing and now that the problem has been solved I feel cock a hooop, but I am no fool I know there is another challange just waiting around the corner. It reminds me of when i started to play music I would say " if only I could play that tune I would be happy" whenever I learned it I never was cause I wanted to up the ante.

Good things to you.

Backswing

Just try gripping down on the club by an inch and see if you can hit the 5 iron.

It is a matter of technique that limits your distance.

The reason you were able to swing the demos better is called the Hawthorne effect:

Hawthorne effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What you discovered makes sense. Long irons should have a shallower angle of attack therefore the flatter swing. I was going to suggest ball position but the adjustment in your stance and posture may have taken care of that.

Good to hear things are working out...

Billy G had one of the best suggestions imo...

Something that hasn't been mentioned is playing the ball forward...I play my long irons off my left heel (right handed golfer)...gives a little space to get behind the ball and sweep it off the ground...


Something else is that I sometimes fall into the trap of believing that a longer iron requires a harder swing...and start to flail away with poor results...maintain your tempo and keep turning through the ball...


Don't write off instructors completely...I have some horror stories about instruction (had an instructor walk away mid lesson after demanding full payment, telling me I was impossible and my game was hopeless...dare anyone to top that!!!) ...but I finally found one that I trust and just saw him last week after a bad run of rounds in the 80s...straightened me out in 10 minutes and we spent the rest of the time doing drills that I could continue to do to reinforce the movement...shot a 74 today...he saw something that I have been trying to figure out on my own for the last two months; saved me alot of time I might have spent suffering poor scores and experimenting with trial and error...keep looking, there is one out there...